


Child of the Desert

by Rethira



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-11
Updated: 2014-06-11
Packaged: 2018-02-04 06:48:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1769572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rethira/pseuds/Rethira
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An abandoned Hylian child is adopted by the Gerudo.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Child of the Desert

**Author's Note:**

> yeah i got to talking with some friends about what if in the new wii u zelda there's more gerudo involvement (aka link lives with the gerudo) and then that got on to discussing what it might be like if link and ganondorf were raised as brothers
> 
> this is that fic
> 
> it's not set in any particular version of a zelda game, although you may notice shout outs to previous games
> 
> this was written in part to Hudson Taylors _Battles_ , and that is where the headings are from

_i. i was open, now i’m hidden from the danger of his words_

 

They already have a child, a son. A trueborn son of the Gerudo, the child who will be their King.

But they cannot leave this second son to die. His skin is pale, his hair fair, and his eyes are the blue of the oasis. Hylian, the Elders say. A Hylian child, abandoned to the whims of the desert. He should have been swallowed by the sands.

He was not.

So he is taken back to the village, and he is dressed in swaddling clothes and he is fed. The children come to stare at him. The Prince comes too, and he stares at the little sleeping child and he looks up into the eyes of his mothers and he asks, “Can I name him?”

And they nod to their Prince and he smiles and touches the little pale head and says, “Your name is _Link_.”

 

Link grows up quiet and solemn; he can often be found clutching the hem of the Prince’s clothes, half-hidden behind the Prince. He runs as fast as he can when the Prince does, chases after him and doesn’t ask for him to slow. He grows into long, lean limbs, and his skin tans under the desert sun.

When he calls for the Prince, he calls him _brother_ , and it makes the Prince smile.

Link has seen not quite ten rains when they first take him to the horses. The Prince has ridden before, has been riding the last three rains, but Link has never seen a horse. He meets the Prince’s horse, a great black stallion with hooves bigger than his head, and he presses one slim, pale hand against its nose and breaks out into a wide smile.

“Ride with me?” the Prince asks, and Link nods eagerly, accepts the hand up and clings to his brother’s back, and laughs as they race the wind.

He’s given his own horse only a short time later. The Prince insists, and Link is given a mare to call his own. His delight is contagious, and Link rides as if he was born to. He and the Prince ride the desert border, where there is rock enough for the horses to gallop on.

By the time the next rain comes, the Prince has gifted his brother a bow, and it sings in Link’s hands.

 

They go down to the oasis with the other children and the Prince pushes Link in. Link drags him down too, and laughs to see the Prince soaked through, red hair dripping in his face. The Prince scowls and shoves Link again, but soon he’s laughing too.

Their sisters sit them both down afterwards, and run their fingers gently through wet hair. Link’s is growing long, they note, and tie it back in a ponytail, while the Prince’s is just as long as theirs. He’s not paying attention, so Link leans over and whispers to his sister, and she giggles and pulls the Prince’s hair into pigtails without him noticing.

Their sisters fall about laughing to see it, and the Prince blusters angrily, but he’s still smiling.

 

“That’s where I want to go,” the Prince says, pointing down into a land covered in green. “One day,” he continues, “I’ll take you there.”

The wind picks up, and brings the scent of new life with it. The Prince leans into it. “Brother, do you feel the wind?” He sighs. “That is the wind I will bring to the desert.”

Link grins and turns his horse around. The desert beckons.

 

Moblins roam the desert at night. The Prince goes out to hunt them often, sword in hand and crossbow strapped to his hip, and he comes back with grand stories of how many he hunted. How many he killed. Link clutches his bow and when the Moblins come too close, far too close, he fires arrow after arrow and each one finds its mark.

“Come with me,” the Prince says; when he next goes out to hunt, Link goes with him. They drive the Moblins back, and the Prince laughs and claps his brother’s back and shouts, “We’ll clear them out yet, you’ll see!”

They head out again, laden down with meat and water, and the Prince chases the Moblins back to their stronghold and Link shoots down the guards and they break down the doors and fight the Moblin chieftain to a standstill.

The Prince bares his teeth and snarls, “ _I_ am King of the Desert,” and his next strike sends the Moblin chieftain’s head rolling across the floor.

They stand there panting in the aftermath, the Prince’s sword dripping blood and Link’s fingers shaking from firing his bow, and then the Prince turns and cries out, “We did it!” and sweeps Link into his arms and they stand there laughing until the sun disappears behind the distant mountains.

 

The Prince holds out his hand says, “Come with me,” and Link pauses.

He stares down at that green, lush land, and he slowly shakes his head.

The Prince scowls and turns away. “Fine,” he snaps, “I’ll go by myself.” He spurs his horse into motion and gallops away from the desert.

Link stands there and watches him go, until he can’t see him anymore.

 

The Prince returns with stories of grass and water, more water than he’s ever seen before, and of people with pale skin and fair hair and his smile only falters slightly when he looks to Link.

“They’re your people,” he says, but Link shakes his head.

The desert is his home. The Gerudo are his people. And the Prince is his brother.

He goes with the Prince next time, and he sees the beauty his brother sees. Sees the wonder here, in this place where the people don’t know what they have.

The Prince takes Link to the oasis- the _lake_ and he scoops up the water and drinks it. A sigh escapes his lips, and he looks up at Link and says, “Drink with me,” and Link finds that the waters of the lake taste unlike the waters of the oasis.

“Delicious,” the Prince murmurs.

 

They do not go back that night. The land here is cooler than the desert, but its nights are warmer, and when the Prince says he aims to sleep under the stars, Link does not mind. There are monsters here, just as in the desert, but they are afraid of fire and keep their distance, not driven to desperation as those in the desert are.

Their horses graze nearby, and the Prince lies on the forgiving grass and he says, almost to himself, “I wonder why you were ever given to the desert.”

Link shakes his head. He doesn’t know. He doesn’t care to know. This land is beautiful, but the desert is his home.

“Still,” the Prince continues, “I am glad you were. I am glad to call you brother.”

 

They hunt in the desert – animals live there, small shy creatures, but there are goats on the border lands and Link’s arrows fly strong and sure, and when he and the Prince return it is with a goat apiece lain over their horse’s backs.

There’s a celebration amongst the Gerudo, and they talk of a merchant band coming soon and it will be good to get fresh foods again. It will be good to have cloth and grain and new dyes, and there is excitement amongst their sisters for the coming work.

And then the Elders rise and they say, “The King will be crowned before the next rains come.”

The Prince, seated beside Link, freezes and stares up at them and for the first time Link can remember, his brother looks _afraid_.

 

_ii. and he will find nowhere left to hide_

 

They steal away three nights later. The Prince drags Link out of bed and Link saddles his horse still half asleep. The Prince snorts and calls him _lazy_ , and presses Link’s bow into his hands.

Link manages to ask where they’re going, and the Prince turns on his horse and smiles widely.

“We’re going to Hyrule,” he replies, and spurs his horse into a gallop.

Link yawns again, glances back and then urges his horse to follow the Prince.

 

There’s a village on the river. They’ve seen Gerudo before, know them on sight, and they bar their doors and windows to the Prince and spit at him. He laughs, and spits right back. It’s up to Link to ask about, to find how far they are from Hyrule, and the villagers scowl at him but see his pointed ears and his fair hair and they talk to him.

“We’ll go there later,” the Prince says. “For now, I’ve heard there’s a great treasure only a short way away.” There’s a light in his eyes, a light Link’s only seen when they fought the Moblin chieftain, and it’s not so hard to follow his brother into the darkness of the cave and fight the monsters they find there.

There’s a split in the path and the Prince turns to Link and says, “What do you say? Shall we see who can reach the treasure first?”

Link grins back and takes the left path. He’s armed only with his bow, but the monsters carry arrows with them and he can pull his arrows from their corpses as well. A monster with a great spiked tail tries to kill him, crashing into the earth where Link was standing, and he rolls and jumps and fires arrow after arrow until his fingers ache with the strain of it and the monster finally falls to a shot into its great single eye.

There’s a door beyond the creature, and Link pushes it open with shaking hands, and finds a room filled with light.

“Took you long enough,” the Prince snorts, slinging an arm around Link’s shoulders. “My poor, lazy brother.”

Link elbows him and runs on ahead. The light eases until he can see a great, golden harp. The Prince presses a hand to it and runs his fingers over the strings and then he snorts again and says, “Strings were always more yours than mine,” and leaves Link to touch the harp.

As soon as he does, the harp shrinks down until it’s easily carried in his hands. The Prince looks only a little surprised, and he laughs, “Well, that proves it doesn’t it?”

 

It’s bright outside, and Link is listening more to the Prince’s tale of the monster he fought, but they both pause at the same moment. There is silence in the trees. Unnatural silence. Link’s hand immediately goes to his quiver and he nocks an arrow, turning to stand back to back with the Prince.

A voice echoes from amongst the trees. “It is good that you are here,” it says. “Your fates are entwined, yes. But not, I fear, _together_.” The voice laughs then, mocking, and a great wind stirs up. Link staggers, away from his brother. He turns, throwing out a hand, and sees the Prince doing the same, but the wind tears them away, and the light gets brighter and no matter how Link fights he cannot reach his brother again.

The light goes abruptly dark.

 

_iii. i was climbing, now i’m falling_

 

Link wakes on a bed. He sits up awkwardly, staring around. The room he’s in is nothing like the rooms of the Gerudo. It’s bright and airy, and there are flowers by the window.

“Oh you’re awake are you?” A woman bustles into sight and she clucks, “Never seen such a lazy boy in all my life.”

Link bristles a little, and the woman shakes her head and turns away.

“Didn’t mean no harm by it,” she continues. “You’ve been sleeping for days anyway, and well, my lad couldn’t just let you lie there. No-one else around for miles. One of the horses almost ran you over, and my, wouldn’t that have been a sight.”

Link gets up and looks about for his bow. It’s propped in a corner, and he feels much more himself when he rests his hands on it. The golden harp lies beside it, and he takes that more absently, strapping it on his back, under the quiver.

The woman looks over again, and says, “I do hope you’re not planning to run off just like that. Three days you’ve been lying in that bed, and I had to mend your clothes. I expect you don’t have rupees to pay me back so you’ll go out and help with the horses and I shouldn’t wonder if that’ll repay any debt you owe us.”

The horses aren’t like those from home; they’re more like the Prince’s horse, with hooves like dinner plates and thick necks and muscled legs and Link vaults the fence and runs up to the nearest of them. It doesn’t spook, just watches him with warm, gentle eyes and allows Link to card his fingers gently through its white mane.

A man comes up behind Link and says, “Well, old Epona’s taken a liking to you, eh? There’s a surprise. Old girl doesn’t like many as come up here.”

The mare, Epona, turns her head and presses her nose against Link’s neck. She snorts and then turns back to grazing.

The man starts and says, “Oh yes, I’m Talon and the wife’s Calon and _this_ is Lonlon Ranch, home to the finest horses in Hyrule.”

 

They haven’t seen the Prince anywhere, and they don’t have any clue where he might be. Calon clucks and fusses, but Talon takes Link out to where he’s saddled Epona and he says, “You take her and you find your brother.” He even points the way to Castle Town, where they get people from all over. “If anyone knows where your brother is, you’ll find them in Castle Town,” he says, and Link is gone before he can even say goodbye.

There are monsters on the road, but Epona doesn’t fear them and Link has arrows enough to fight. Soon there are more people on the road, and they don’t stare and spit at him like the people in the village on the river had. They haven’t heard of a Prince either.

“There’s only the Princess around here,” they say, with a sigh. “Princess Zelda.”

Link nods and urges Epona onwards. They ride through the gates to the town – vast, grey stone things, and there are huge doors and it’s nothing like home. Guards in shining silver armour stand beside the doors and they look at Link and smile welcomingly, and Link wonders only a little at what his brother’s welcome might have been.

The press of people within the walls makes Epona nervous, but Link doesn’t dismount. He strokes her neck gently, and keeps her on the main roads. People make way for a horse her size, but they still get too close and Link half wants to turn her around and run back to the fields.

He has to find his brother. But he doesn’t know where to begin searching.

Eventually the road leads to a great plaza. There are other horses, hitched outside one of the buildings and left with food and water. Link dismounts beside one, ties Epona there and murmurs softly to her before he goes inside.

The mood inside is cheerful and no-one stares at him. There’s laughter and people drinking happily, and the smell of rich food in the air and Link sidles awkwardly over to the bar. The man there pauses in his polishing.

When Link asks, he says, “I haven’t heard anything about the Gerudo recently. You might head up to the castle. The Princess is told about any incursions they make.”

Link nods and leaves. Epona seems glad to see him and trots easier along the cobbles than she had before. The way up to the castle is clear of people, and the guards let him through. They watch with curiosity as he goes. When he asks for an audience with the Princess, they stare at each other and frown, and one of them hurries away to ask. When he returns, he announces that the Princess will see him.

Link dismounts again, and Epona allows herself to be held by a guardsman while another leads Link into the castle.

It’s beautiful, Link thinks. The Prince would call it magnificent. Beautiful, but cold.

 

The Princess is beautiful as well; she regards Link passively, and then asks, “You took the harp from the temple?”

Link nods and shows it to her, and there are gasps from those watching. The Princess stands and takes a few steps forward, raising her hand as if to touch the harp. But her hand falls short, and she turns back to her throne.

“I do not know where your brother is,” she says, “but I have heard that the forest to the east is in great discontent. You may search there for your brother.”

When Link turns to go, the Princess speaks again. “There are monsters in the forest that will not fall to your bow. There are swords in the armoury that you may use.” She nods. “I wish you luck, child of the Gerudo.”

Link nods and all but runs from the throne room.

 

The sword he is given is short and straight and nothing at all like those his brother has used. It is a comforting weight on his back; he straps the harp to Epona instead, and leaves her untethered when he dismounts. She comes when he whistles for her, pricking her ears and racing across the landscape to meet him.

The forest is full of monsters, ones with heavy armour and no chinks for an arrow to find. His sword cracks their shells and slices through their flesh, and he fights until he reaches a clearing. Children clad in green appear and dance round him and tell him riddles, and finally point him on towards a great tree.

“They are the Kokiri,” the tree says, “and they are afraid.”

 

Their fear lies hidden in the deepest part of the forest, where few have ever walked. The trees part for the harp’s song and reveal a glade where the river runs red and foul, and monsters roam freely. A blind snake lives at the centre, eyes turned milky white, but more than large enough to eat Link whole.

It falls when he hacks its head off, long body writhing for a few seconds even headless as it is.

The voice – the one that had stolen his brother away – echoes through the trees. “Well done, well done,” it laughs. “You have killed the Great Snake, yes. But I wonder,” the voice says, “if you should have?”

 

The Kokiri have not seen the Prince. In the south, a volcano erupts.

 

The Gorons send him down into the heat and the dark, clad all in red, and it is worse than the desert sun on his back.

There is a four legged monster, clad in flames, and it tries to trample Link under its hooves. He climbs up to its head, winds a rope around its horns and rides it into the walls of the cave. When it falls to the ground, stunned, he drives his sword into its belly, until the creature falls for the last time.

This time the voice says, “Hoho, and the Great Ram falls as well. You will not find your Prince here, child of the desert. And you may regret that which you have done here.”

 

The Gorons speak of a man clad in black and with hair the colour of the flame and they point to the north, past Hyrule and into the ice fields.

 

A glacier cracks and shatters to the harp’s melody, revealing a temple swallowed by the ice. An ape lurks within, a monster with teeth as long as Link’s sword and mad, red eyes. It hurls ice down upon him and shrieks with fear when he fires a flaming arrow towards it.

Link collapses beside its corpse and listens for the voice, but all he hears is the crack of ice under boots and when he looks up-

There is his brother.

“You caught up, I see,” the Prince says, and he doesn’t sound happy.

Link goes to hug him, but the Prince turns away. He clicks his fingers and a rip opens in the air, a thing of darkness and the Prince says, “I’ll see you again soon, brother. Good luck,” and then he walks into the tear and is gone.

 

The creatures of the ice shake their feathered heads and talk of the lake Link first saw all those years ago.

 

The Zora give him a tunic of dark blue, and tell him that there is a creature in the depths, a monster that is turning the water into poison.

The water parts into great walls, allowing him to walk down into the depths, watched by Zora and fish and great, terrible creatures no Gerudo has words for. At the bottom lurks a bird, its feathers turned to water and a poison leaking from its mouth.

His sword pierces its heart and it coughs up yellow bile, and when Link turns the Prince is there.

The voice laughs again and says, “It is done. All the guardians are dead, and it is all thanks to _you_ , child of the desert.” A tear opens in the air and a clawed arm reaches out, ripping it wider, until a beast of blackened flesh and glowing eyes tumbles out. It says, “You have _freed_ me, child of the desert.” And it laughs.

 

The Prince asks, “You intend to follow it?”

Link nods, gritting his teeth. He offers his hand to his brother; a question goes unasked.

The Prince shakes his head, and snaps his fingers. “We have different paths to follow now, my brother. But I shall see you again, do not fear for that.”

 

The creature runs to the castle; it tears into those grey stones Link had stared at before, rips them apart. The people run and scream and Epona races down the streets of stone until Link pulls her up outside the castle. There is fighting inside, he can hear it, and he runs inside. The monster has torn the place apart, gouged marks into the walls and left the guards scattered on the floor.

One croaks to Link, “The Princess! It’s after the Princess!”

But when Link reaches the throne room, the Princess is nowhere to be seen. There is only the creature and the Prince.

And the Prince reaches slowly out, and lifts the monster like it’s nothing, and he raises it above his head and says, “You’re _weak_ ,” and his hand tightens on the monster’s throat until its neck cracks. A triangle on his hand blazes into existence, so bright Link has to shield his eyes.

“Yes,” the Prince says, “this is _true_ power.”

When the light clears, he is gone and there is no sign of Princess Zelda.

 

_iv. and i have found a breach in his front line_

 

The Elders of the Gerudo shake their heads sadly. They say, “You must follow him. You must bring him back to us.”

They say there was a prison built, made for the creature that escaped. But the creature grew so powerful that they were forced – all the land of Hyrule – was forced to ask for the Great Spirits to take the prison and to bind it away, and so the Spirits did.

And that should have been an end to it, but as the years passed the creature’s power grew while the Spirits’ power waned until this could occur.

And now their Prince has fled to that prison, and they do not know what he shall do there.

Link asks how he can get there. How can he reach his brother in this place that cannot be reached on horseback?

“There were keys made,” the Elders say. “For if that creature's evil had ever faded then we might have brought it back – look for the keys, brother to our King. Return the Prince to us.”

Link nods, and he collects the harp and weapons he has and he goes into the desert – to find that place where their key should rest.

 

There is a great scar in the desert, where the sand falls endlessly. The Prince had called it the Sandfall, and it is there that Link goes. He stares down into the darkness.

He jumps.

 

The key is a warped piece of glass, sand melted into beauty. It glows, and then a creature made all of sand snatches it up and steals the key away. Link fights it, and if the creature thinks that it can use the sand against him then it is mistaken. He rides the sand instead, and his sword shatters the key when it touches – his sword begins to glow with the same light as that of the key.

When he returns from the Sandfall, the Elders nod and point tremulous fingers back towards the lands of Hyrule.

 

In the Icewastes Link fights one of the feathered men. It clutches a frozen feather to its breast and screeches when Link smashes the ice against the ground. The feather glows and sinks into Link’s sword, the hue changing slightly.

“You’ll ruin everything,” the feathered man cries, and he runs when Link makes to help him.

 

There is a castle made of ash in the sky above the volcano. The floor takes Link’s weight, but even so he walks with caution. The wind itself turns against him, tearing at his clothes until he finally breaks the geode against his sword’s blade.

The ash beneath his feet begins to crumble, but before he can fall the air tears open and a hand reaches out. He’s dragged backwards into it, and light and shadow play across his eyes until he’s shoved out again. He lands flat on his back, and stares up into the Prince’s eyes.

“You will stop this,” the Prince says. “Do not make me raise my sword against you, brother.”

The rip in the air seals shut.

After a moment, Link gets to his feet and whistles for Epona.

 

A cave lurks behind the waterfall. The Zora never go there and they warn Link away, but he goes anyway, and he fights his way past traps and monsters until he stands, exhausted, before a great dragon. It roars at him and moves so fast he can’t dodge and its jaws close around him. Link struggles, lashing out with his boots and sword. A tooth snaps off and the dragon opens its mouth just slightly, but Link sees the glow in the roof of its jaw.

He wedges a foot against one of the dragon’s teeth, turns his sword, and thrusts upwards. The scale gives way to his sword and the dragon manages one scream of agony before it keels over, dead.

The Prince comes as Link pulls himself out of the dragon’s mouth.

“I told you to stop this,” the Prince says, and there is anger in his words. “Will you not listen to your brother?”

Link shakes his head and staggers forward. The Prince’s expression changes, eases a little.

“So that is it? You wish to come with me, brother? We could rule together,” and there is excitement now, joy, “rule and conquer, and no more would the Gerudo hide in the desert. We would have Hyrule! We would have the fields and the mountains, we would have the lake and its people would never dare turn us away. We could have it _all_ , brother!”

And very, very slowly, Link shakes his head and raises his sword.

The desert is home. And all he wants is to take his brother back there.

The Prince’s face twists into _fury_ , and he snarls, “So be it,” and leaves with a sweep of his cape.

 

_v. we are tied to the truth, the tie that binds me to you_

 

The last key is a flower, shining with the light of the sun. But as Link approaches, the air around him opens and expels monsters, things like the creature that had escaped. It is the Prince’s voice that comes now and he says, “Turn back, brother.”

Link shakes his head and lifts his sword and shield and turns to the first of the monsters to come.

The flower is crushed in the battle, but its light still fills Link’s sword.

“Stop this,” the Prince orders, again. “I do not wish to fight you, brother, but I will if I must. And I will defeat you.”

Link shakes his head again and raises his sword in the sunlight. It glows.

 

The keys must be used at the place where the prison once lay. It is a place of quiet and darkness, and Epona does not like to tread it. But she goes anyway, and eventually Link comes to a place where the ground fades to nothing. He raises his sword and the light shines on the darkness, and the air opens. Epona will not go through it, tossing her head and shaking, so Link goes on alone.

He crosses a bridge of shadows and light. A castle lurks at the end, squat and ugly and the only true light Link can see is far off in the distance. Shadow creatures pour from the castle doors, but they fall before Link’s sword with ease. They gibber and wail, and their noises sound almost human in a way that makes Link shudder.

He ascends, until he comes into a throne room.

The Prince stands at the end, a crown upon his brow, and Princess Zelda seated to his left.

The Prince says, “When they brought you to the desert, when they brought you to our mothers, I asked for a boon. I asked that I be able to name you.” He takes a step towards the windows. “For you see, even then I wanted to bind Hyrule to the desert. I wanted to bind Hyrule to _me_. And so you were named _Link_ , so that you would tie us together.” He turns, and there is anger plain on his face. “But I see now that you have not fulfilled your purpose. You seek to bind me to the desert. You seek to bind me to a land of sand and dust and _nothing_ , when I could have _Hyrule_.”

He turns and draws his sword, and barely gives Link enough time to raise his shield before the blow hits.

On Link’s sword hand, a triangle begins to glow.

The Prince falls back, and mad laughter escapes his lips. “Don’t you see, brother,” he exclaims, “we were meant to rule! Together!”

Link shakes his head, holding his hand out. Asking again. Come home with me.

The Prince sneers. “If you will not rule with me, then you are nothing. You are nothing more than _sand_ ,” he snarls, and his sword crashes down against Link’s, so hard Link falls back to the floor. He rolls with it, kicking out to send the Prince flying over his head, then twists upright and raises his shield against the Prince’s next strike.

“Fight me!” the Prince cries. “Fight me, brother! Show me the power the goddesses blessed you with!”

Link grits his teeth, and when the Prince next lashes out at him, Link parries and tries to slice at the Prince’s stomach.

His brother laughs out in pure exhilaration, and his next strike aims to part Link’s head from his shoulders. “Fight like you want to win, brother!” the Prince laughs; his sword clashes against Link’s so firmly that it rips Link’s sword from his hand. Link drops and rolls and stands with his sword ready again, just in time to defend against the Prince’s fist.

Link shoves him away, staggering back towards the thrones. Suddenly Princess Zelda is at his side, readying a bow he’s never seen before. She lets fly a volley of arrows, each one blazing with light; on her hand, just as on his and the Prince’s, glows a triangle.

She says, “You are not the only one blessed by the Goddess, Prince of the Gerudo.”

Momentarily defeated, the Prince falls back. He snaps his fingers – and here the sound twangs with power, resonating deep in Link’s bones – and the air rips open. He pauses on the verge, staring at Link and he says, “If you will not rule with me while the desert remains....” His eyes alight with madness, he steps back through the waiting tear. It seals shut behind him.

 

You cannot destroy a desert. Link knows this. All the Gerudo know this. The desert is eternal.

There is no fire when Link arrives. There is no smoke on the wind, and there are no screams.

There is only blood.

Their mothers and their sisters lie broken on the ground. Even the Elders, bodies ruined on the steps. The entire village is ransacked. There are Moblins roaming freely; in the stables, not a single horse remains, though their blood is spattered on the floor.

Link does not rest until each and every last Moblin lies dead. Only then does he fall to his knees and weep.

The desert cannot be destroyed. But a home can.

 

_vi. though you may have won the battle, but i’ll take the fight to you_

 

The Prince has the grace to meet Link. He rides his black stallion; its eyes are red and black now, and its every movement is lined with tension.

The Prince smiles. He calls across the plain, “Will you fight me now, brother? Or will you come with me, and let us take this land for our own?”

Link grits his teeth and raises his bow. His arrow flies neatly past his brother’s head, just clipping his cheek. The Prince raises his hand to the blood and laughs. “Then you will die here, brother,” he announces.

 

It is like racing the wind. Racing the wind, except, his sword is held ready and when his brother approaches, Link strikes. Epona runs as fast as she ever has; both horses run neck to neck, jostling each other. Link fights one handed, trying to rip the sword from his brother’s hand; the Prince only tries to gore Link.

When Link tumbles from Epona’s back, the Prince hauls his horse around and leaps off. His sword is flashing out even before he’s landed, and nearly takes Link’s head with it. He fights ferociously, but Link meets his every strike, and landing his own hits when he can.

They tire bit by bit. The Prince’s strikes begin to lack their strength. He wobbles on his feet, in part because of exhaustion and part because of injury. Link’s breaths come harsher and harsher. His hand shakes on the sword grip, but he doesn’t drop it.

“I _will_ be King of Hyrule,” the Prince snarls; he overextends on his next strike, and Link moves before he is aware of it.

His sword slides into the Prince’s heart.

 

_vii. only time will tell if we’re all just cynics on the run_

 

They stand there, half embracing. The Prince’s sword falls from his lax grip, and his hands clutch at Link’s back. He chokes and blood stains his lips.

“Brother,” he groans, “brother, do you feel the wind?”

Link nods.

The Prince sighs. “Good. Good.”


End file.
